The look on her face told him that, while she appreciated his efforts, they both knew different. He tugged her back against him and she came willingly, resting her head on his shoulder. They were seated on the lowered tailgate of his truck, watching Ian, Vivi, and various other law enforcement officers do their jobs in the old hay barn. The field, which looked like it should be a quiet and peaceful place, held several vehicles including the medical examiners van and a special truck from the state crime lab.

It was all a far cry from the tranquility theyd been basking in that morning.

"We should go," he said.

Matty nodded but didnt move. "I dont have much empathy for my father or Sandra, but I would never have wished this on them. I cant imagine anything worse than losing your child, even if that child is a grown adult."

Dash couldnt agree more, but even so, he was wondering what kind of effect it was going to have on Matty. True, she and Brad hadnt been close, but based on the fact that he had asked her to come up to Windsor and shed accepted, maybe they had both reached a point in life where they were finally open to getting to know each other. And knowing what he knew about Matty, she wouldnt have reached that point easily. But now it was never going to happen. He pulled her closer and rubbed her arm, saying nothing.

They sat for a long while, watching people go in and out of the barn until, finally, a stretcher with a body bag on it was wheeled out and into the medical examiners van. Vivi had followed the body out and stood by as it was loaded. Once the van was making its way down the hill, she turned and started toward them. Within a few seconds, she was joined by Ian.

"Im sorry you had to see this," Ian said.

"For the second time," Matty said, referring to the first body that had fallen into her car. "For a small town, Windsor seems to see a lot of violence."

It wasnt a mean comment; instead, it was laced with a sadness that Dash thought he understood better after hearing her revelations the evening before. In the Bronx, she had expected things like this, things like death and violence. But out in the country, out in a place that seemed so quiet and calm, people should be able to find peace. And the fact that they couldnt, the fact that violence was everywhere, was a cause for sorrow for all mankind.

"Is it Brad?" Matty asked Vivi.

"We dont know for sure," Ian interjected.

Dash watched Vivis eyes dart to her fiance and then soften as they landed back on Matty. "Ian is right, we dont know for certain. But given what I know, I would say that yes, its Brad."

It was a small thing, but as Matty leaned her body against his, Dash felt her sag just a bit. He knew it was all shed allow herself. He held her hand tight in his.

"If youre up for it, Matty, Id like to ask you a few questions?" Ian asked.

Dash felt her stir against him before she answered. "Of course. Im not sure how much Ill know, but you can ask."

"Maybe we could go to the house, sit somewhere more comfortable, and then I can have a look around once were done?" Ian suggested.

If anyone else noticed Mattys moment of hesitation, they didnt show it.

Soon, all four of them were seated in the kitchen drinking iced tea. The dogs, having sensed something was off, huddled around them in a steady, if somewhat bothersome, show of support.

"Will they be up there long?" Matty asked, referring to the crime scene officers with a gesture of her head toward the hill.

Ian inclined his head. "Theyll be there for a bit longer and then Carly and Marcus will come down here to help me look through some of Brads things. Do you mind?"

She shook her head and made a vague all-encompassing motion with her hands. "Please, whatever you need."

"Thanks, we appreciate that. But for now, I just want to ask you about your last conversation with Brad and anything you can tell us that might shed some light on what happened in that barn."

For a long moment, Matty just stared at Ian, her mind sluggishly processing what he was saying. Then, with a little shake of her head, she started speaking. "I last spoke to Brad the day before I arrived here. It wasnt a very long conversation. He just asked me to come up and house-sit for him."

"But the request wasnt a usual request, was it?" Vivi asked.

"No, you both know it wasnt. I hadnt spoken to Brad in years, and to be honest, the only reason I took his call was because I was looking for a distraction from my writing. But we talked for about ten minutes. At first I thought he was crazy and then I made some offhanded comment about needing an expert in modern Chinese politics and he said he could hook me up with one if I came up. I figured, what the hell, and so I did."

"And who is the expert?" Ian asked.

"Chen Zheng," Vivi supplied, earning her a look from Ian. "I met his sister the other day when I dropped by to see Matty. Hes a professor at the university," she provided.

"So, you know how to reach him?" Ian asked.

"Matty probably knows better than me. I can get his contact information from the school, but she probably has it," Vivi answered with a look at Matty, who nodded.

"Its here," she said, rising from her chair. She plucked a business card from a drawer, returned to the table, and handed it to Ian. "He and his sister, Mai, may know more about Brad than I do, they seem to be good friends with him."

Ian thanked her and tucked the card into his shirt pocket. "Now, is there anything you think we should know about Brad? How did he sound when you spoke to him? Did he sound depressed or worried about anything? Distracted?"

She gave a half-hearted shrug. "No, but you have to understand, even if he was any of those things, I didnt know him well enough to necessarily pick up on it. He was insistent that I come up. That alone was strange, given our history. But hed called a couple of times over the past year and I thought that maybe he was just trying to extend the olive branch or something. How did he die?" she asked abruptly.

Ian looked at Vivi, who gave a small nod then answered. "It was a gunshot wound to the head. It wasnt an accident and he was holding a shotgun, but as of right now, we cant tell if it was self-inflicted or not."

"So, murder or suicide, then," Dash said.

Vivi nodded. "Well know more tonight or tomorrow. Now, Matty, I think its time to mention why I was here the other day," she added gently.

Dash turned toward Matty and knew that whatever Vivi was talking about was part of what had been holding her back from him a few days earlier. As if to confirm it, her eyes flickered to his before she looked back to Ian and spoke.

"Ive been trying to get ahold of Brad since the first day I arrived and found out that I didnt have just the dogs to take care of but all the other animals, too. Ive called maybe a dozen times since I arrived? After the conversation we had at The Tavern the other night, I asked Vivi if she wouldnt mind looking into it, looking into whether or not Brad could be found."

"Did you think something might have happened to him?" Dash asked.

Her eyes met his briefly and he saw a hint of an apology in there. "Like I told Vivi that night, I dont-didnt," she corrected herself after a pause. "I didnt know him well, so I didnt know if he was the kind of guy to hike off into the woods for two weeks with no cell phone or if there might really be something wrong. But given that I couldnt reach him and I found those weird pictures, I thought it might be worth looking into." She finished her sentence a little uncomfortably and Dash wondered if there was something more. But before he could ask, Vivi interjected.

"And because I could understand her confusion, I agreed to look into it myself. I came by a few days ago and collected a missing persons report that I took up to the lab. I was just getting around to looking into it when Matty called me this morning."

Dash watched Vivi communicate this information to Ian, who couldnt have been happy about Vivi doing this on her own. But Ians expression, though fixed on his fiancee, remained utterly unreadable. At least to Dash. Vivi on the other hand, arched an eyebrow at Ian in what looked like a subtle challenge.

"Well discuss protocol later, Vivienne," Ian finally said before turning back to Matty. "Is there anything else you think we should know? Any phone calls or mail or other messages? Any letters he left or that have come for him?"

She looked around the room, as if it might tell her something, then lifted a shoulder. "Nothing really. There were a couple of bills that were stamped and addressed that I dropped at the post office the first or second day I was here. But I dont know if he has a PO box, because I havent seen any mail in the mailbox at the end of the road. As for the rest, the house was tidy when I got here and the only note for me was the one about the animals."

"And the suggestion to look in his liquor cabinet," Dash interjected.

"And that. And there havent been any calls, either," she added.

"There was the incident with Bobs toe," Dash added. At the sound of his name, the yellow Lab stood, ambled over, and nosed Mattys hand. Absentmindedly, she stroked his head.

"Yes, there was that, but youre looking into that already," Matty added with a look at Ian who nodded.

"Yes, we are looking into it, but I think we should bump it up on the priority list given the circumstances," he said. Vivi nodded as the sound of a car in the driveway caused the dogs to bark and stir toward the door.

"Thats probably Marcus and Carly. Do you mind if we have a look around?" Ian asked, rising from his seat. For a brief moment, Dash wondered what condition Matty had left the bedroom in. Her clothes had been scattered on the floor, the sheets twisted, and the blankets tossed aside when hed left that morning. He didnt really care but didnt want Matty to feel uncomfortable about anything.

But she didnt seem to notice or care; she just nodded her head and let the three officers get to work as she sat with him and Vivi in the kitchen, listening to the rummaging going on throughout the house. On occasion, Ian, Marcus, or Carly would pop in and ask if something was either Brads or hers. More often than not, it was Brads, with the exception of her laptop that, once identified, was brought to the table, presumably to keep it from getting mixed in with the other items the team was either rifling through or collecting.

"Will you stay with Dash tonight?" Vivi asked softly from her position on the other side of the table.

"Yes," he answered for her.

But Matty shook her head. "There are too many animals here, Dash. I cant stay away for the night and leave the cats and rabbits and dogs and chickens. There is too much to take care of here."

Vivi must have heard the same hint of desolation he heard in Mattys voice because she cast him a look warning him to tread carefully. He didnt know Vivienne DeMarco well, but he did know that, in addition to being a doctor, she was also a psychologist. He thought her specialty was forensic psychology, but even so, shed know much more about what was probably going on in Mattys mind than he would.

"Of course you dont have to come to my house if its easier to stay here. Maybe we can just swing by my place after Ian and the team leave. Ill pick up some clothes, then we can grab some food and well just have a quiet night here," he said, brushing her hair from her neck. For the first time in several hours, she looked at him, really looked at him. He couldnt tell what she was thinking, but she offered him a small smile and a simple thank you.

A couple of minutes later, Ian came down with a comb in what Dash assumed was an evidence bag. "Is this Brads?" he asked.

Matty looked at the item and nodded. "Yes, but why are you taking his, oh," she paused, the reality of the situation sinking in. They wanted his comb for DNA. She cleared her throat. "He was meticulously clean. Well, his house is anyway. You may not find what you need with that," she said with a nod toward the comb. "My toothbrush is the electric one. His is the green one in the cabinet. Or at least I assume that was his since it was here when I got here," she said.

Ian gave a nod and muttered a quick thank you before exiting again.

Matty turned to Vivi. "You can take a sample from me if it would help to have someone you know would be a half-familial match," she offered.

Vivi inclined her head. "Thanks. I may ask Ian to do that, just in case."

"Will you tell his parents?" Matty asked.

Vivi shook her head. "Not until were sure its him and then, yes, Ian will make that call. Unless you want to?" she added, her tone suggesting she was testing the waters.

Matty gave a little laugh. "No, if it turns out to be Brad, I dont want to be the one to tell his parents. I know we share a father, but its only biologically. I havent seen my father since my grandmothers funeral and, before that, only pictures of him. Besides, my feelings for him aside, if it is Brad, this is going to be devastating to him and his wife and I dont need to complicate things further."

Vivi looked about to press her more, but Ian entered the kitchen, followed by the two other officers. All of them were carrying either a box or several large envelopes.

"Were done here," Ian announced. Vivi rose from her seat and asked Ian to take a DNA sample from Matty. Ian didnt hesitate to do as his fiancee asked, and within two minutes, he was done. Matty stood as Ian capped and sealed the sample hed taken from her mouth.

"Thank you, Matty." Ian said. "Marcus and Carly will take these items to the lab with Vivienne and well let you know what we find out as soon as we know anything. In the meantime, take care of yourself-and be careful," he added with a look at Dash.

"Thank you," she responded and they all moved toward the door.

Matty leaned into Dash as they stood on the patio watching the four leave.

"How are you doing?" he asked, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. The afternoon had gone by and dusk was beginning to fall. The crickets were singing in the fields and a few birds of prey were circling in the sky.

"Im not really sure," she answered. "I mean, it was horrible to find what I did today and its horrible to think a mans body may have been up there this whole time-time that Ian and Vivi could have been doing their jobs if wed just found him sooner."

"But what about the fact that it might be Brad," he pressed, ushering her inside.

"Thats the part Im feeling a little, well, nothing about. If its him I will be sad, but Im not sure I will be any sadder than if it is anyone else. I know I should feel more because hes my half brother, but, well . . ." Her voice trailed off and she let out a deep breath. "Then again, considering what I told you yesterday, maybe this is just another one of those instances where I should be feeling something but dont because Im lame and cant."

Dashs gut clenched. He knew what she was or wasnt feeling for Brad had nothing to do with her childhood, but on the heels of their recent and raw conversation about the subject, he could understand how she might take her ambivalence as further proof of her lack of ability to feel.

"Theres no should about any of this," he reassured her. "You feel the way you feel, even if that feeling isnt overwhelming sadness for a man who was little more than your biological half sibling."

She offered him another small smile. "I know, but it feels coldhearted not to be potentially devastated by it. I cant even say Im sad about lost opportunities because Im not sure that those opportunities would have ever come up, even if he was alive. Listen to me," she stopped speaking as she poured herself a glass of water. "Im talking about Brad like we already know it was him up there in that barn. There is always a chance it wasnt him, right?"

Dash was pretty sure she didnt think that was the case so he said nothing. He watched her take a few sips of water before she raised her eyes back to his.

"I know," she said. "I do think it is him. But it will be good to have Vivi confirm it whenever she can. And I know it could have something to do with the note he left me and maybe even what happened to Bob." Her eyes darted away from his for a just a moment and he wondered if she was avoiding his gaze because of emotion or something else. The thought brought him up short, reminding him of the one argument theyd had. It seemed like ages ago but had really just been a few days past. Shed been looking into something that had to do with Brad and hadnt wanted to tell him what. The situation had sparked what had become a much deeper conversation, but while wading through those depths with her, hed forgotten what had originally piqued his interest.

He opened his mouth to ask her about what she had been looking for on Brads computer, but she cut him off.

"There are more questions than answers right now, Dash. But do you mind if we just not try to answer them, or think about them, too much tonight?"

Given what she had gone through, it wasnt a request he could deny. So he nodded and held out his hand to her. She came to him and he pulled her close.

"Lets go for a drive. Well stop at my house, eventually pick up some food and maybe a movie, and then come back here. Sound good?" he offered.

She made a little hum against his chest. "That sounds like just what the doctor ordered."

CHAPTER 15.

MATTY KNEW DASH SUSPECTED that she wasnt telling him everything about Brad. She could tell by the hint of a question that crept into his eyes whenever she brushed off talking about her half brother. When Dash had first raised the subject in his truck that night as they drove to dinner with his parents, she had brushed him off because of habit, because of her underlying fears about where she stood, or could stand, in their relationship. But now it was something different. Now, though she wasnt overwhelmed by sadness, she did feel a bit of a protective streak for her half brother creeping into her psyche and she wanted to know more about the body before she said anything about what she suspected Brad might have gotten tangled up in.

First and foremost, she wanted to know if, in fact, the body was really Brads. And if so, how hed died. It shouldnt matter, but it did. Had whoever the man was that shed found in the barn committed suicide or had he been killed?

If hed been killed, then the hints that Brad had been involved in some sort of financial misdeeds would be important. But if hed killed himself? What would anyone have to gain by knowing of his potential transgressions?

The banks might be able to close the books, but theyd do that anyway once they found out Brad was dead. As it was, the only thing she could see coming out of disclosing such information, if in fact it was Brad and he had committed suicide, was the additional emotional devastation Brads parents would feel. And again, while she didnt feel any affection for either of them, no parent should have to go through what may lay ahead of them.

So, instead of talking about what she had or hadnt found in her search of Brads computer and house, Matty and Dash spent the evening curled up on the couch watching old movies. Without her asking him to, Dash took the next day off and they spent it together, quietly running errands about town. They dropped off several cartons of eggs at Dashs parents house and were invited to stay for lunch. In the afternoon, they went down to Main Street, where Matty did a little shopping in the quilt store, Spin-A-Yarn, picking out a beautiful quilt of fall colors for her mom. After that, they wandered around in the wine shop and then she bought a new pair of fall boots at the only shoe store in town. They avoided Franks because they figured that, by now, many people in town would know about the body and they worried that if they sat down it might look like an invitation for people to come and talk. And neither she nor Dash were interested in talking about what she had found.

She paused outside a closed ice cream store and Dash told her that the young woman who owned it had been attacked several months earlier. She was doing well and a full recovery was expected, but she hadnt been able to reopen her shop yet. The town, it seemed, had pitched in and paid her rent and utilities for six months so she wouldnt lose her business while she healed. Matty thought that sentiment probably wasnt particular to small towns, but she liked the idea of the community coming together to help one of their own. She made a mental note to make a donation herself.

After picking up her car from the clinic, they made their way back to Brads farm. Evening was settling over the valley and Matty and Dash were out on the patio sipping wine when they saw headlights turn onto the driveway. Predictably, the dogs were up and barking within seconds, but recognizing the vehicle as Ians, she and Dash stayed seated until the engine cut out.

Ian was out of uniform and Matty could tell by the look on his face that the news wasnt good. Dash moved to her side as, hand in hand, Ian and Vivi approached them.

"Do his parents know?" Matty asked quietly.

Vivi nodded.

"Theyre out on Prince Edward Island in Canada right now. Theyll arrive in Windsor tomorrow," Ian said.

"And was it suicide?" Matty actually brought herself to ask.

Vivi leaned against the patio railing and lifted a shoulder. "Were still going over the evidence. Im the ME on the case, but I work with Sam Buckley who runs the lab. Neither of us are prepared to make a call on cause of death yet."